Who is Mohammed Sinwar?

Who is Mohammed Sinwar, the Hamas leader Israel says it killed?

We have been watching the video coming out of Gaza. Officials at the United Nations reacting to the chaos that broke out at an aid distribution site in Gaza run by *** US-backed group on Tuesday. And frankly these video, these images are heartbreaking to say the least. Thousands of desperate Palestinians rushed to receive food supplies. Crowds tore down some of the and appeared to climb over barriers. Israeli troops fired warning shots into the air, and the US contractors overseeing the site briefly withdrew. The aid distribution came up at *** Tuesday State Department briefing. The real story here, the story is that aid and food is moving into Gaza at *** massive scale at this point when you're looking at 8000 food boxes. The distribution site is run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Its aid plan has drawn criticism from the United Nations. The GHF acknowledged Tuesday's incident, but State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce appeared to sidestep the issue. I'm not, I'm not going to address either gossip or complaints or people who knew or weren't included or would do it *** different way or who's shooting at whom. I'm Reed Binion reporting.

Who is Mohammed Sinwar, the Hamas leader Israel says it killed?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Mohammed Sinwar, believed to be the head of Hamas' armed wing, has been killed, apparently confirming his death in a recent strike in the Gaza Strip. There was no confirmation from Hamas.Sinwar is the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader who helped mastermind the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the Israel-Hamas war, and who was killed by Israeli forces in October 2024.Israeli strikes have decimated Hamas�� leadership during the 19-month war, and Mohammed Sinwar was one of the last widely known leaders still alive in Gaza. But the militant group has maintained its rule over the parts of Gaza not seized by Israel. It still holds dozens of hostages and carries out sporadic attacks on Israeli forces.As the head of Hamas�� armed wing, Sinwar would have had the final word on any agreement to release the hostages, and his death could further complicate U.S. and Arab efforts to broker a ceasefire. Israel has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been either defeated or disarmed and sent into exile.Mentioned in passingNetanyahu mentioned the killing of Sinwar in a speech before parliament in which he listed the names of other top Hamas leaders killed during the war. “We have killed tens of thousands of terrorists. We killed (Mohammed) Deif, (Ismail) Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Sinwar,�� he said.Netanyahu did not elaborate. Israeli media had reported that the younger Sinwar was the target of a May 13 strike on what the military said was a Hamas command center beneath the European Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, the Sinwars' hometown. The military declined to comment on whether Sinwar had been targeted or killed.At least six people were killed in the strike and 40 wounded, Gaza's Health Ministry said at the time.A Hamas veteranMohammed Sinwar was born in 1975 in the urban Khan Younis refugee camp. His family was among hundreds of thousands of Palestinians driven from what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation. The refugees and their descendants today make up the majority of Gaza's population.Like his older brother, Yahya, the younger Sinwar joined Hamas after it was founded in the late 1980s as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. He became a member of the group’s military wing, known as the Qassam Brigades.He rose through the ranks to become a member of its so-called joint chiefs of staff, bringing him close to its longtime commander, Deif, who was killed in a strike last year.Mohammed Sinwar was one of the planners of a 2006 cross-border attack on an Israeli army post. In that attack, militants captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, who was held for five years and later exchanged for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including Yahya Sinwar.In an interview with Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV aired three years ago, Mohammed Sinwar said that when Hamas threatens Israel, “we know how to specify the location that hurts the occupation and how to press them.”Hamas has said that Mohammed Sinwar was targeted by Israel on several occasions and was briefly believed to have been killed in 2014. He is said to have been one of a handful of top commanders who knew about the Oct. 7 attack in advance.In December 2023, the Israeli military released a video it said showed a bearded Mohammed Sinwar sitting next to a driver in a car as it moved inside a tunnel in the Gaza Strip. Hamas never confirmed what would be one of the few public images of him.___Mroue reported from Beirut.

Sinwar is the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader who helped mastermind the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the Israel-Hamas war, and who was killed by Israeli forces in October 2024.

Israeli strikes have decimated Hamas�� leadership during the 19-month war, and Mohammed Sinwar was one of the last widely known leaders still alive in Gaza. But the militant group has maintained its rule over the parts of Gaza not seized by Israel. It still holds dozens of hostages and carries out sporadic attacks on Israeli forces.

As the head of Hamas�� armed wing, Sinwar would have had the final word on any agreement to release the hostages, and his death could further complicate U.S. and Arab efforts to broker a ceasefire. Israel has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been either defeated or disarmed and sent into exile.

Mentioned in passing

Netanyahu mentioned the killing of Sinwar in a speech before parliament in which he listed the names of other top Hamas leaders killed during the war. “We have killed tens of thousands of terrorists. We killed (Mohammed) Deif, (Ismail) Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Sinwar,�� he said.

Netanyahu did not elaborate. Israeli media had reported that the younger Sinwar was the target of a May 13 strike on what the military said was a Hamas command center beneath the European Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, the Sinwars' hometown. The military declined to comment on whether Sinwar had been targeted or killed.

At least six people were killed in the strike and 40 wounded, Gaza's Health Ministry said at the time.

A Hamas veteran

Mohammed Sinwar was born in 1975 in the urban Khan Younis refugee camp. His family was among hundreds of thousands of Palestinians driven from what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation. The refugees and their descendants today make up the majority of Gaza's population.

Like his older brother, Yahya, the younger Sinwar joined Hamas after it was founded in the late 1980s as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. He became a member of the group’s military wing, known as the Qassam Brigades.

He rose through the ranks to become a member of its so-called joint chiefs of staff, bringing him close to its longtime commander, Deif, who was killed in a strike last year.

Mohammed Sinwar was one of the planners of a 2006 cross-border attack on an Israeli army post. In that attack, militants captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, who was held for five years and later exchanged for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including Yahya Sinwar.

In an interview with Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV aired three years ago, Mohammed Sinwar said that when Hamas threatens Israel, “we know how to specify the location that hurts the occupation and how to press them.��

Hamas has said that Mohammed Sinwar was targeted by Israel on several occasions and was briefly believed to have been killed in 2014. He is said to have been one of a handful of top commanders who knew about the Oct. 7 attack in advance.

In December 2023, the Israeli military released a video it said showed a bearded Mohammed Sinwar sitting next to a driver in a car as it moved inside a tunnel in the Gaza Strip. Hamas never confirmed what would be one of the few public images of him.

___

Mroue reported from Beirut.

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